The high school wrestling world continues to swarm to Fargo, North Dakota for USA Wrestling's biggest event of the year: Junior Nationals.
2026 saw a continuation of past years, which saw record-setting numbers across all ages and styles. This shows that the demand for high schoolers to compete at the highest levels in the sport of wrestling is strong across the nation.
While no new record was set this summer, the number of entrants saw little drop-off across the board. Below is a graph showing the tremendous growth in the Fargo brackets since 2011, the first year 16U Girls Freestyle was added as a sixth tournament.
A table with all the numbers represented in that graph can be found below.
| YEAR | 16U WFS | JR WFS | 16U GR | JR GR | 16U MFS | JR MFS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 81 | 189 | 746 | 783 | 932 | 1,006 | 3,737 |
| 2012 | 85 | 201 | 778 | 773 | 943 | 1,048 | 3,828 |
| 2013 | 86 | 225 | 807 | 800 | 1,007 | 1,062 | 3,987 |
| 2014 | 121 | 284 | 802 | 869 | 980 | 1,073 | 4,129 |
| 2015 | 164 | 306 | 913 | 895 | 1,084 | 1,140 | 4,502 |
| 2016 | 202 | 405 | 934 | 970 | 1,124 | 1,201 | 4,836 |
| 2017 | 242 | 432 | 923 | 894 | 1,153 | 1,143 | 4,787 |
| 2018 | 258 | 513 | 915 | 908 | 1,181 | 1,224 | 4,999 |
| 2019 | 360 | 594 | 967 | 928 | 1,253 | 1,272 | 5,374 |
| 2021 | 350 | 662 | 943 | 1,044 | 1,317 | 1,585 | 5,901 |
| 2022 | 518 | 946 | 1,044 | 1,140 | 1,436 | 1,563 | 6,647 |
| 2023 | 740 | 853 | 1,203 | 1,144 | 1,595 | 1,596 | 7,131 |
| 2024 | 838 | 1,135 | 1,259 | 1,311 | 1,698 | 1,815 | 8,056 |
| 2025 | 1,029 | 1,216 | 1,274 | 1,339 | 1,786 | 1,887 | 8,531 |
| 2026 | 1,025 | 1,269 | 1,258 | 1,294 | 1,740 | 1,818 | 8,404 |
Junior girls freestyle indeed set a new record for entrants, while all other divisions saw very moderate declines. This may become a new plateau, as the Fargodome can scarcely fit any more mats and the days inside the dome are already long. More qualifying tournaments or extending USA Wrestling's stay in Fargo are options but no changes have been planned or announced.
We've been tracking and attending Fargo for nearly a decade and can confirm that 2026 Junior Nationals was packed to the gills with wrestlers, as also evidenced by the photo from Tony Rotundo below.
You can read about 2025's record-setting event here. Check back in a year from now and we'll if Fargo can get even bigger still!